Osborne J. P. Widtsoe

“ The great promises of future glory can be realized only through a faithful observance of the new and everlasting covenant.
No more sublime principle has ever been given to man than this of the sanctity and eternity of the marriage contract. Through it, the home becomes more than ever the center of community life. The father and the mother, if they continue faithful, are bound together by everlasting ties. And their children, too, become theirs throughout eternity. Death can have no fears for them. The grave has lost its victory. For they know they shall rise again from death and the grave ”

“ It is not impossible, then, for man to possess the power to do the works that Jesus did. Indeed, man may do even greater works than those Jesus performed. But to gain the power so to do, one must not only believe in Jesus, one must also keep His commandments. In short, one must add works to faith. Mere belief will save no man, just as mere confidence in one's own ability will never build a locomotive. But when our works make practical our faith, and prove it really true and worth while, then we may claim a realization—a fulfillment—of all that is promised through our diligence. ”

“ Anyone who has endeavored to write a book, or even a magazine article, can testify how the problem of consistency often stares one out of countenance. But here is a book which purports to be a sacred record—a book, inspired by the Spirit of God. It contains prophecies and it relates history of war and of peace; it expounds the simplest and the profoundest principles of human salvation; it records the very words of the Lord,—yet it does not once contradict itself, nor is it once inconsistent with itself. Surely, this is a condition of fact that epilepsy, or mere imposition could not achieve. ”

“ In all the history of the world there has never been another man like Jesus, nor another mission like that which He performed. We have heard so much of the meekness and humility of Jesus, of His suffering all things and resenting nothing, of His going like a lamb to the slaughter, that many people have formed a picture of Jesus that is wholly unworthy of Him. Some of you, even, may possibly think of Jesus as a weak sort of man who takes all kinds of abuse. But such a conception of Jesus considers only one of the virtues in the man, and does not consider the whole man. ”

“ But the "Book of Mormon" is more than history. The angel that John the Revelator saw fly in the midst of heaven, had the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. That is why the "Book of Mormon" is more than history. It contains the fulness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered to the Nephites. It is so simple that the child will read its pages with interest, yet it contains a profound treatment of the philosophy of the Gospel. In the restoration of this sacred record, the prediction of the Apostle John was indeed beautifully fulfilled. ”

“ To the woman of Samaria, Jesus declared, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." No longer, after the ministry of Jesus, should Jerusalem be the center of divine worship. The world over, men should learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. ”

“ But it is only fair to assume that life would have been as dear to him as to anyone else. It is not probable that he would have laid down his life for a mere imposture. It is not probable that he would have been willing to make so rich a sacrifice, had it been possible for him to recant—to deny what was an untruth anyway. More probably, if he had been an imposter, Joseph Smith would have saved his life, at the last, by avowing the imposture he had attempted to establish. But Joseph Smith did not deny his divine, prophetic calling. ”

“ One can easily imagine that not only God, but the whole multitude of spirits also, must have been astounded at the selfishness and the arrogance of Lucifer. He was willing to try to save mankind—to force their salvation, in fact—but as reward he would thrust God from His throne, and claim for himself the honor and glory of God. It was as if he had said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." ”

“ The mob leaders declared openly, "The law is too short for these men, but they must not be suffered to go at large"—"if the law will not reach them, powder and ball must." In short, Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith, were overcome finally, not by the just decisions of a properly constituted court of law, but by the bloodthirsty passion of an infuriated mob. As with the lowly Nazarene, so with the humble American Prophet, the law would have washed its hands of the case, for it found in the Prophet an innocent man void of offense; but the lawless, passion-ruled mob would not have it so. ”

“ What does it matter, after all, if one lose one's worldly possessions but gain contentment of soul and an assurance of eternal exaltation? There are men who are possessed of untold material wealth who would give all to gain the simple testimony of Jesus possessed by the simplest and humblest member in the Church of Christ. Indeed, true contentment—which is the chief reward of a well-spent life—can come only as the result of service unselfishly rendered. Neither wealth nor poverty can bring about the worth-while, spiritual reward of an act prompted by a worthy motive. ”

“ Man may deceive his fellow-man, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind! ”

“ Of course, it requires courage, patience, and persistent effort to cultivate so supreme a degree of faith. Yet, one who has it not can hardly say with truth that he has learned fully to know God. Indeed, such sublime faith alone marks the truly converted and nobly devoted soul; whereas the lack of such faith reveals a lack of fulness of trust in God—almost a disloyalty to God. One cannot in this world attain to real peace and happiness without implicit faith in God. Without it, one can not keep on keeping on in fervent prayer to God. ”

“ The Lord who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the vail was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. ”

“ It is truly the most wonderfully unselfish sacrifice, and the sincerest demonstration of love, you will find anywhere recorded. As He approached the day of the awful sacrifice, Jesus Himself declared to His followers, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." And as God the Son manifested thus His great love, so also did God the Father. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ”

“ But this church was without divine authority. It had no divinely appointed Priesthood. Its doctrines were perverted, and before it the people bowed in submission in fear and trembling.
This awful state of affairs brought about the "reformation," when the Lord raised up courageous men to shatter these fetters of bondage, that freedom might be given to the people and the way prepared in part for the re-establishment of truth, when the proper time should come. But Luther and the other "reformers" were without the power and authority to act in the name of the Lord. ”

“ Why should there be devised in the heavens a gracious and liberal plan of salvation? Why, because of man, should the hosts of heaven be plunged into the horrors of civil war? What is man, that the noblest of the spirits of heaven should lay down His life for man's redemption? It is an answer to these questions that we want now to find in the teachings of Jesus. ”

“ William E. M'Lellin—who had taught school successfully in five states of the Union, and who was noted for a ready flow of good language—to write a single section like the least of the revelations in the book of commandments! Was it unparalleled conceit and presumption that prompted such fearlessness, or was it implicit confidence in the unique quality of the revelations dictated by divine inspiration? Would not so bold a declaration tempt even men of superior wisdom to pit themselves against the reputed man of God? ”

“ Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and poet, wrote, "Jesus is the most perfect of all men that have yet appeared. The unique impressions of Jesus upon mankind are not so much written as ploughed into the history of this world. He saw with open eye the mystery of the soul. Alone in all history, He estimated the greatness of man." And Daniel Webster declared in his argument in the Girard Will Case, "I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. The miracles which He wrought establish in my mind His personal authority and render it proper for me to believe what He asserts." ”

“ One dies and is buried, having never heard the gospel of reconciliation; to the other the message of salvation is sent, he hears and embraces it, and is made the heir of eternal life. Shall the one become the partaker of glory and the other be consigned to hopeless perdition? ”

“ So he asked, "How can a man be born when he is old?" Then Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." This Jesus said, of course, of the ordinance of baptism and of the Holy Ghost. Not only, then, must one believe and repent, but one must also be baptized in water in fulfillment of the requirement of the law. Without such a renewal of the spiritual life, a man may not even see the kingdom of God. ”

“ Again, in the book of the prophet Malachi, occur passages that point unmistakably to a time of restoration. The Lord promises to send a messenger, before He shall come suddenly to His temple. Then only the righteous shall stand, for He shall be like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. [C] Again, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord—when all the proud and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble—the Lord promises to send Elijah, to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers," that the earth may not be smitten with a curse. ”

“ It is indeed a privilege beyond measure to belong to a Church founded upon divine revelation, presided over by the Lord Jesus Himself and conducted by a divinely appointed priesthood, and regulated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the divine plan of salvation. Not many people appreciate fully what a priceless blessing is within their reach. They clamor and struggle, sometimes, for membership in some secret brotherhood or other, which will avail them nothing when they shall pass into that other world ”

“ Now, what is the significance of this glorious vision of John the Baptist? It means, first, that man must have authority to act for God; secondly, that the religious world in the time of this vision had no authority to act for God. It is unreasonable to suppose that any one should presume, without authority, to take another's place in the business affairs of this world; or that any one would, without protest, permit another to usurp his place and authority in the business transactions of this world. ”

“ I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." It may be said now that the whole world has heard of Jesus, and that most of it has learned to look to Him as its Savior. New life and spiritual light has Jesus given to the world. But while the world has learned to recognize Jesus, the teachers of the world have perverted His doctrine so much that the people hardly know which way to turn. They hunger still, and they thirst for the true teachings of Jesus ”